A Snowbird in Paradise

Our neighbor (full time resident) mentioned a place in Vero that had good pizza.  Yesterday we managed to drive past it without stopping but today, we decided to stop for lunch.

Imagine...OUTSIDE DINING on January 18.  Even after 7 years that is fascinating to me.

When the pizza came it looked and smelled great.  And it was!

We WILL be going back.

The Wabasso Boardwalk

January 17...short sleeves, sun, rolling ocean, warm wind...what more could we ask.

This is how it looked when we started today.  Weeds underneath had pushed through the screen.  The big leaves of the "Monster" were right up against the screen, threatening to bend it inward.  We had Cloudy and 77 degrees for working.

Here it is after an hour or so of work by us both.  And...

Here is most of the debris.  Thank goodness for curbside pick-up.

This planting bed along the screen house was my "better idea" several years ago but the only plants that survived the freeze are ones I wanted to remove this year anyway.

So...what happens when a retired engineer decides to brace up a leaning landscape palm?

Well, let's just say that the recipe includes 15 pieces of wood, 15 long screws, 6 long hose clamps, and more tools than I could count.

Not all of the plants survived the frigid week we had.  The Kalanchoe plants that were already blooming and bordering the back flower bed just couldn't survive a week of below freezing temperatures at night.

Just as I started back up the hill to the house she flitted into the palm over my head and I got this shot.  I will hit the books today to try and identify the species.  This appears to be the female.  The male has a yellow chest and more pronounced markings around the eyes and on the head.

It was warm enough yesterday to get out and garden, but the gardening needed me too much to take photos.  So this morning I did a little stroll with the following results.

I love butterflies and was delighted that this one let me get close and snap away.  I need to research what kind of butterfly it is.   It will be some time before we see anything like this back North.

This plant was perfectly fine 2 days ago but several nights in the 20s really took a toll on certain plants.  I THINK this was a "Moses in the Boat" plant.

We protected the two Jade plants in the garage (small one) and with a sheet (the large one we can't lift).

I remember how long my mother babied a small Jade house plant in the North and it never reached anything like this size.

I consider this "The Best For Last".  Maybe it is because the Bird-Of-Paradise  is close to the house and protected by it, but there doesn't seem to be any damage from the cold.  Thanks goodness, because this is R.'s pet plant.

Back to our old habit of driving along Indian River Drive and sitting at the park watching the wildlife.  When we went past the first time this Osprey was finishing his "lunch".  With the cold weather, the birds and animals are a little lethargic, but half an hour later he was still there so I figured he wanted his picture taken.  Glad to oblige.

We also watched 3 dolphins lazily rolling in the lagoon a few yards off the shore.  Looked like an adult and 2 babies.  No pictures, though.

Most interesting was the lack of pelicans.  Terns and seagulls were flying and active, but there are usually hundreds of pelicans, especially around the fishery.  The news mentioned that with the cold the pelicans were starving and stressed, but the wildlife resources are stretched thin, as it is, with the fight to save the green turtles and manatees.  I will be watching the news tonight to  follow the fight.  The manatee are flocking into warm streams and springs but there isn't enough food for them in those huge numbers and it is against the law for people to feed them.  Fortunately there are a lot of environmentalists in Florida and they are mobilized in huge numbers this week.

Next we went over the Wabasso causeway to take a peek at the ocean.  We are so happy to see the causeway rebuild is finished.  Even more happy to use the new beach boardwalk.  I HAD to take these two pictures showing that it is perspective.  Both were taken in the same 5 minute period and at the same place.

Surfers will surf any time!

On the way back to the mainland we passed an entrance to a beautiful community with some awesome landscaping at the entrance.  This time it was all pink geraniums and, I think, Phlox.

Our trip from Michigan to Florida started in snow.  It was light but enough to cause the salt trucks to be working at 6:30 AM.  For the next 550 miles snow was the least of the mess as salt and road sludge splashed onto the windshield making good wipers and lots of washer fluid imperative.

This is the car in Cocoa Beach, our first chance to get it washed.  Since Virginia, a lot of the salt and road sludge had blown off, but enough remained that the couple who owned the car ahead of us recognized another "escapee".  They were from Greenbay and said their drive had been the worst trip they had ever taken.

I guess we were lucky.  It only took the detailers at the car wash forever to clean the outside of the truck.  They had some kind of special solution to counteract the effect of the salt on the car body.

It seems as if most of the birds are still in their winter flocks.  I think they will soon split up and start their nests.

It was just an idle drive through the Erie Metro Park to kill a little time before an appointment.  As I drove into the picnic area parallel to the Lake Erie shore line I began to make out a LOT of birds in the water just off shore...SWANS.  A couple of other cars were in the parking area but they looked like they belonged to some walkers and runners on the trails.  I grabbed the little ELPH camera out of my purse and strolled over to the rocks that line the shore.  A few birds close to shore began to paddle away but most paid no attention to me.  I took a couple of pictures and a video.

I loved the huge freighter on the horizon heading into the upbound channel toward Detroit

I can't upload the video but several thousand from far right to far left is the estimate.  It is a sight AND SOUND!  The noise was deafening.